Milo

July 16

“Because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son.… I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven; … because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Gen. 22:16–18.)

AND from that day to this, men have been learning that when, at God’s voice, they surrender up to Him the one thing above all else that was dearest to their very hearts, that same thing is returned to them by Him a thousand times over. Abraham gives up his one and only son, at God’s call, and with this disappear all his hopes for the boy’s life and manhood, and for a noble family bearing his name. But the boy is restored, the family becomes as the stars and sands in number, and out of it, in the fullness of time, appears Jesus Christ.
That is just the way God meets every real sacrifice of every child of His. We surrender all and accept poverty; and He sends wealth. We renounce a rich field of service; He sends us a richer one than we had dared to dream of. We give up all our cherished hopes, and die unto self; He sends us the life more abundant, and tingling joy. And the crown of it all is our Jesus Christ. For we can never know the fullness of the life that is in Christ until we have made Abraham’s supreme sacrifice. The earthly founder of the family of Christ must commence by losing himself and his only son, just as the Heavenly Founder of that family did. We cannot be members of that family with the full privileges and joys of membership upon any other basis.—C. G. Trumbull.
We sometimes seem to forget that what God takes He takes in fire; and that the only way to the resurrection life and the ascension mount is the way of the garden, the cross, and the grave.
Think not, O soul of man, that Abraham’s was a unique and solitary experience. It is simply a specimen and pattern of God’s dealings with all souls who are prepared to obey Him at whatever cost. After thou hast patiently endured, thou shalt receive the promise. The moment of supreme sacrifice shall be the moment of supreme and rapturous blessing. God’s river, which is full of water, shall burst its banks, and pour upon thee a tide of wealth and grace. There is nothing, indeed, which God will not do for a man who dares to step out upon what seems to be the mist; though as he puts down his foot he finds a rock beneath him.—F. B. Meyer.

16 JULY

Practise hospitality

‘Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: and I will fetch a morsel of bread and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.’ Genesis 18:4–5
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Genesis 18:1–16

We may briefly note Abraham’s hospitality and the reward he found it. The apostle refers to this and to the case of Lot (in Hebrews 13:2) where he says, Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have received angels unawares. It seems Abraham did not at first know his guests, but it was his usual custom to welcome strangers. We are not bound to open our doors to all, nor would it be prudent, but we should be hospitable and kind, especially to the Lord’s people. We know not what a blessing they may bring with them. The kindness we show to the meanest of his, he will accept as done to himself. These three men were three angels, or rather, one of them was the angel of the covenant, the Lord, who afterwards assumed a real body on behalf of his people. This was a greater honour and happiness to Abraham, but such honour have all his saints. He still walks with them and dwells in them.
Observe the simplicity of the times. Abraham was a great man, he lived in plenty. But the idle pomp and luxury of aftertimes was not then practised. His entertainment was plain. And he and Sarah, though they had many servants, were not above a concern in it. Abraham fetched the calf and Sarah made the cakes. So we find Rebecca drawing water. I do not say it is necessary or would even be proper for persons of rank and destination to employ themselves so with us. But the pride and vanity which grows in our times as people are raised a little above the lowest state of life, appears doubly contemptible when compared with the manner of Abraham’s living, whose wealth, honour and influence were very great, and yet he had no regard to the things of the world, but for their real use.

FOR MEDITATION: ‘Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms’ (1 Peter 4:9–10, NIV).

SERMON SERIES: GENESIS, NO. 37 [1/4], GENESIS 18:14

July 15th

The point of spiritual honour

I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians. Romans 1:14

Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent himself to express it. The great inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that sense of indebtedness to Christ in regard to every unsaved soul? The spiritual honour of my life as a saint is to fulfil my debt to Christ in relation to them. Every bit of my life that is of value I owe to the Redemption of Jesus Christ; am I doing anything to enable Him to bring His Redemption into actual manifestation in other lives? I can only do it as the Spirit of God works in me this sense of indebtedness. I am not to be a superior person amongst men, but a bondslave of the Lord Jesus. “Ye are not your own.” Paul sold himself to Jesus Christ. He says—‘I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the Gospel of Jesus; I am free to be an absolute slave only.’ That is the characteristic of the life when once this point of spiritual honour is realized. Quit praying about yourself and be spent for others as the bondslave of Jesus. That is the meaning of being made broken bread and poured-out wine in reality.

July 15

“This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4.)

It is easy to love Him when the blue is in the sky,
When summer winds are blowing, and we smell the roses nigh;
There is little effort needed to obey His precious will
When it leads through flower-decked valley, or over sun-kissed hill.

It is when the rain is falling, or the mist hangs in the air,
When the road is dark and rugged, and the wind no longer fair,
When the rosy dawn has settled in a shadowland of gray,
That we find it hard to trust Him, and are slower to obey.

It is easy to trust Him when the singing birds have come,
And their canticles are echoed in our heart and in our home;
But ’tis when we miss the music, and the days are dull and drear,
That we need a faith triumphant over every doubt and fear.

And our blessed Lord will give it; what we lack He will supply;
Let us ask in faith believing—on His promises rely;
He will ever be our Leader, whether smooth or rough the way,
And will prove Himself sufficient for the needs of every day.

To trust in spite of the look of being forsaken; to keep crying out into the vast, whence comes no returning voice, and where seems no hearing; to see the machinery of the world pauselessly grinding on as if self-moved, caring for no life, nor shifting a hair-breadth for all entreaty, and yet believe that God is awake and utterly loving; to desire nothing but what comes meant for us from His hand; to wait patiently, ready to die of hunger, fearing only lest faith should fail—such is the victory that overcometh the world, such is faith indeed.
—George MacDonald.

15 JULY

Prayer from the heart

‘And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!’ Genesis 17:18
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Genesis 17:1–22

The Lord was now confirming his covenant to Abraham and assuring him of the promised son, in whom he should be a father of many nations. But he had another son, and embraces the occasion of speaking for him likewise.
Observe from the occasion: faith takes encouragement, when much is given or promised, to ask the more. So he gains upon the Lord, as it were, in the next chapter, every time he speaks. We are not straitened in the Lord; were we not in ourselves, we should see great things. What lies near the heart will be spread before the Lord in prayer in an hour of liberty. It is our duty to pray—and too often believers have little else to prompt them to it. Their spirits are dry, and they deal mostly in generals, but there are favoured seasons when the soul comes near to the Lord and then can open all its particular desires. These are golden hours; one such is preferable to a thousand. The sun in its course beholds nothing more honourable than this: a worm of dust holding conference with the great God.

And dost thou say, ‘Ask what thou wilt’?
More of thy presence, LORD, impart,
LORD, I would seize the golden hour;
More of thine image let me bear;
I pray to be released from guilt,
Erect thy throne within my heart,
And freed from sin and Satan’s power.
And reign without a rival there.

FOR MEDITATION: He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Go then with this promise to the throne of grace—pray first to know your own state and wants and to have your desires moulded by his Word and will, and then be careful about nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication make your request known unto God. And you shall not pray in vain. He that spared not his own Son will freely give you every thing else—grace, peace, wisdom, provision and protection.
Sermon on Romans 8:32, The Searcher of Hearts

SERMON SERIES: GENESIS, NO. 36 [1/1], GENESIS 17:18